1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable oxygen supply unit for delivering breathable air with enhanced oxygen content.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Ambient air contains about twenty percent by weight oxygen with the balance being mainly nitrogen. It is known that breathing air with a higher oxygen content has beneficial effects on persons such as athletes, aviators and sportsmen to allay respiratory exertion, on persons suffering from asthma or other respiratory ailments, and those temporarily suffused with certain poisons, fumes, smoke or an excess of alcohol. Many other conditions such as altitude sickness and migraines also benefit from treatment with oxygen. In addition to these uses, as air quality declines because of pollution and the oxygen content in the air declines because of deforestation, others may find temporarily breathing oxygen enriched air beneficial in today's stress-ridden, fast-paced world where peak performance is expected at all times. A little extra oxygen can promote increased alertness and physical stamina.
Oxygen which is suitable for human use, i.e., aviators and medical oxygen, is typically stored in cylinders. The oxygen is piped through tubes and administered through a mask or nose-piece. Medical oxygen is administered by prescription; aviators oxygen is available to the public. There are commercial locations called oxygen bars that provide customers with an opportunity to temporarily inhale breathable air that contains a higher concentration of oxygen. Currently customers of these establishments use a small flexible hose called a cannula or mask to deliver the oxygen-enriched breathable air into the nostrils.
When a person needs an oxygen lift and is not on prescription oxygen, a commercial facility may not exit or may not be open. Nor is keeping a personal oxygen cylinder practical as, absent a cart such as used by an emphysema patient, oxygen cylinders are not portable. Moreover, the tubing, mask and nose-piece arrangement used with oxygen cylinders is unattractive as it is associated with being sick. It is also cumbersome and not transportable. What is needed is an oxygen supply unit that is portable, preferably relatively inexpensive, and does not use tubes, masks or nose-pieces. Such a product can also be filled with medical oxygen and sold by prescription for example in the treatment of migraines and other non-life threatening conditions which require a small amount of oxygen for treatment.